Ukraine’s invading troops have destroyed a second bridge in Kursk, as President Volodymy Zelensky said Kyiv aimed to create a “buffer zone” with its incursion into Russian territory.
Giving the clearest indication yet of Kyiv’s aims since troops and tanks poured across the border into Russia nearly a fortnight ago, the president suggested that Ukraine hoped to drain Vladimir Putin’s attacking capabilities with its attack on Russian soil.
Speaking in his nightly address, Mr Zelensky said: “It is now our primary task in defensive operations overall to destroy as much Russian war potential as possible and conduct maximum counteroffensive actions.”
He added: “This includes creating a buffer zone on the aggressor’s territory – our operation in the Kursk region”.
While he did not comment on the operation in its early phases, Mr Zelensky previously noted that the Kursk region had been used by Russia to launch nearly 2,000 strikes into Ukraine’s Sumy region since the start of the summer.
Now it is Ukraine’s forces who are fighting within Kursk, with the commander of Kyiv’s air force General Mykola Oleshchuk stating on Sunday that Russia was “minus one more bridge”.
“The aviation of the air force continues to deprive the enemy of its logistical capabilities with accurate air strikes, which significantly affects the course of hostilities,” Mr Oleshchuk said on Telegram.
According to Western military analysts, there were three bridges in the area of the Ukrainian army’s offensive through which Russia supplies its forces – and two of them have been either destroyed or seriously damaged.
Phillips O’Brien, of the University of St Andrews, said: “If the Ukrainians can make it impossible for the Russians to supply troops south of the Seym [river] … they will at a minimum provide a secure flank to their offensive.
“The Russian military is ponderous and needs heavy logistical supply to undertake operations. Without bridges, its hard to see the Russians supplying the needed forces to keep that area effectively militarised.”
Speaking to NPR, he added: “I think the Ukrainians are going to stay there and force the Russians to try and deploy a large army to drive them back … [we are going to] see more of the same until the Russians get serious and realise they are going to need a very large force to push them back.”
With Vladimir Putin desperately pushing to achieve notable gains in Donetsk, Western analysts have told The Independent in recent days that Russia’s window of opportunity to do so will likely narrow as the summer draws to a close.
The Ukrainian invasion of Kursk has already created operational and strategic pressures on Russian forces across the frontline in Ukraine, the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think-tank suggested on Saturday.
But despite US officials telling the New York Times this week that Russia has committed reserves to Kursk that it otherwise would have used for its offensive in eastern Ukraine in the coming months, analysts expect Moscow to prioritise its efforts in the Donbas.
Meanwhile, Russia launched its third ballistic missile attack of the month on Kyiv overnight on Saturday, officials in the Ukrainian capital said.
“According to preliminary information, the Russians again, for the third time in a row, most likely used North Korean ballistic missiles,” said Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv military administration.
Kyiv’s regional governor Ruslan Kravchenko said two private houses were destroyed and 16 others were damaged by falling debris.
Separately, Ukraine’s air force chief said Ukrainian forces had destroyed eight Russian attack drones and five out of eight missiles launched overnight.
“As a result of the anti-aircraft combat, anti-aircraft missile troops of the Air Force, mobile firing groups of the Ukrainian Defence Forces and electronic warfare units shot down 13 air targets in Kyiv, Sumy and Poltava regions,” Mykola Oleshchuk said.
He said all the missiles did not achieve the desired goals and no casualties or injuries were reported.